


Cracked Ivories and Broken Dreams

by KorrasamianCity



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crying, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Just so Much Hurt, Memories, One Shot, Sad, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-23 04:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20886347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KorrasamianCity/pseuds/KorrasamianCity
Summary: Another sleepless night due to nightmares, Clementine trudges her way along the school's corridors, always leading to the same room.It'd had been the fifth time that week, and although she hadn't kept count, the other kids at Ericson's could definitely tell whether they wanted to listen to it or not.They'd often overhear as she woke up in fits, screaming his name.They'd also hear the soft clunking of Clem's crutches leading to the music room, the timid chime of the keys being grazed as she tried to hide her whimpers, and the sudden bang of Clementine collapsing onto the piano's keyboard in broken sobs, begging for the same thing, night after night. Hoping that things will change, but they never do. Pleading that somehow, he'll miraculously come back to sing to her again. But he never does.





	Cracked Ivories and Broken Dreams

* * *

_"_ _Get across! I'll help Tenn!" His voice thundered in her head, taunting her like he always did._

_She nodded, foolishly believing him as she grasped at the bloody hatchet for support on her feet. Her leg was on fire but she limped to the crack of the bridge anyways, throwing the axe before regrettably jumping across the ravine._  
_ She screamed in pain as her injured leg hit the bridge's wooden boards._

_She screamed even louder when the only boy who could always make her laugh was devoured in front of her. He choked in his own blood as walkers ripped at his throat, tearing flesh from his body as he looked her in the eye, agony carved into him._

* * *

**_"NOO! LOUIS!" _**  
Clementine screamed herself awake once again, hurling herself forward in the bed. Her hair clung wetly to the sides of her face. Beads of sweat and tears fell down as she forced herself to breathe.  
In and out.   
She suddenly let go of her blanket, realizing she wrung her hands around the fabric so tightly they went numb.  
She looked dead ahead, exhausted. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't close her eyes.  
Because she'd see him again in the darkness. She always sees him.

She rarely slept at all for days, nearly weeks.   
And when she did, she was always awoken by the sound of Louis gargling, spitting out thick red liquid as he collapsed onto the ground.

She turned to the neighboring bed in tears, empty again. AJ frequently slept over with Tenn since the incident. Since the nightmares began. She would involuntarily wake him. It was slightly disheartening, but she understood. He needed rest. 

Little did she know they could still hear her every whimper through the thin, broken walls.

It was her fault, after all. She didn't trust AJ to make the call. She didn't trust AJ to spare him. To take Tenn's life instead.

* * *

_**"HOW COULD YOU?!"** She screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if she drew walkers into the school because she was seething with rage and misery._  
_"**HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM?!"**_

_"Leave him the fuck alone alone Clementine, he didn't do anything!" Violet protested in front of Tenn, cleaver drawn as she protected him. Panicked faces circled around the endeavor, not really knowing what to do. Clem was still recovering from the loss of her leg, sure, but she always managed to surprise with what she was capable of doing._

_"Bullshit!" Clem spat, pointing a finger at the panicking 12 year old boy, "Louis would be alive if he didn't try to stop him!"_

_"It's not his fucking fault!"_

_"IT'S COMPLETELY HIS FAULT!" She screamed, collapsing on the ground in tears. Her crutches fell with her, knocking dust into the air._

_"**It's... It's..."**_

* * *

"It's my fa-fault..." Clementine sputtered between sobs, digging her face into her knee as she hugged her leg tightly, "...It's all my-my fault."

How she missed the encapsulating sound of her boyfriend's voice, singing sweetly to her as he keyed an enchanting melody on the mahogany piano. The way his whiskey eyes sparkled at her when she laughed at his silly jokes. How she missed staring at each of his freckles, trailing from his forehead to his cheeks as he gave a dimpled smile with his soft lips.

She gave a shaking sigh, knocking herself out of her own thoughts. She placed her legs down, and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her stump grievously as she pulled her boot over her right foot.

Clutching the dresser for support as she pulled herself up, she looked onto the wooden surface and realized her blue baseball cap was still missing. No longer a part of her. She hasn't really felt the same without it. Though, Clem can admit, she doesn't really know what it's like to feel like 'herself' anymore.

She mentally mocked herself, grasping her crutches and pulling them under her as she started hobbling to the exit. She gave a grim sob, before drawing a large breath and opening the door with trouble.

* * *

_"Louie~" Clementine purred, a light sing-song voice that she knew the boy loved all too well. He held her hand, trailing her along somewhere. Where? She didn't know. He had asked her to keep her eyes closed, 'Because it's a surprise," He told her._

_"We're almost there, Love," He responded softly, brushing her knuckles with his thumb in assurance. He only called her that sweet, simple name in seclusion, so they must have been alone. Thankfully, as Clementine would have died of embarrassment if the other kids knew how she chirped to him in private._

_"I swear, I'm gonna trip," Clem banted, feeling the glass and pebbles being kicked away by her two feet, "And when I do, I'm bringing you down with me." _

_"I wouldn't have it any other way," He chimed, obviously brandishing a smile from the way he said it. She gleamed as well._

_The sound of a door creaking open perked Clementine's ears to attention, "Are we here?" She asked, still pressing closed her eyes._

_"What's today's date, Love?" Louis ignored her question and asked his own. He brushed a thumb lightly across her jawline, making her flush._

_"Um, I-uh..." She stammered at her partner's touch, squeezing her eyes closed even more. She heard a light chuckle escape his lips at her trouble._  
_ "I checked last week, and it was the 19th," She started, struggling to compose her thoughts until the sudden realization hit her._  
_ "Oh, Lou-"_  
_ "What's the date?" He repeated bubbly, much more excited._

_"October 26th." She chirped, grinning widely. _

_"That's what I thought," Louis said happily, hooking Clementine's chin and burning his lips into hers. Clem could feel his lips tugging into a smile and couldn't help doing the same._  
_ "You can look now," He affirmed, pulling away much to Clem's dismay._  
_ Clementine fluttered her eyes open and gaped in awe at the room they stood in. It was the music room, because what else would she have expected from her Louis?_  
_ The room glowed in flickering colored lights, candles in mason jars littering every surface, most on his piano. Louis lightly tugged on her hand again and drew her to the center of the room, placing his hands on her waist and spinning her around with a goofy flourish. _

_"Consider this our second date," He beamed, pulling her closer._  
_ He lowered his head, inches away from hers, and softly held her face in his hand._

_Louis breathlessly muttered onto her lips, drawing a flush to rise in the girl's cheeks that he couldn't help smiling at,_  
  
_ "Happy birthday, Love." _

* * *

Clementine crutched her way into the miserable music room, once filled with so many happy memories she desperately clung onto. Blown out and dead candles speckled the room, reminiscent of days gone by. She shuffled to the piano's stool and slowly rested, leaning her crutches against the wooden instrument.   
  
She didn't know why she always came here when the nightmares rattled her brain. Some sort of melancholic comfort, one would assume.  
But she always left feeling even more broken than she would arrive. The girl would sometimes refuse to leave until morning, dark circles and dead eyes as she crutched back to her room, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

She grasped at a mason jar on top of the piano, and lit it with the match she kept in her pocket. The wick burned smoothly, lapping up the oxygen around it to keep it's flame alive. The small flame gave her barely enough light to perceive her surroundings clearly. The light quickly reflected the carving of a heart- No, a 'potato', Louis would always call it, drawing an aggravated moan from the girl.

God, what she wouldn't do to just be annoyed by him _one more time. _

"_Oh, Louis,"_ Clementine cracked to the night sky, pressure emanating in her throat.  
"I miss you. So _fucking_ _much_." 

She allowed the silence to envelope her once more, before drawing a sharp breath and letting out a deep sob.

* * *

_"Again?" Clementine groaned in faux irritation._

_"You don't have to help if you really don't want to," Louis called her bluff, knowing full well she loved helping him, "I just like spending time with my girl."_

_His last sentence fluttered around her heart, making her blush. His girl._

_"You remember which one the A key is, Love?" He asked, smirking as he shot up and led her to the piano's seat._

_"No, I don't," She lied, gently sitting down and pretending to be confused._

_"It's this one, right here," He knowingly played along as he held her from behind, gently grasping her hand and pointing to a specific key._

_"This one?" Clem playfully coyed, shifting her hand to the next key and lightly pressing it._

_"No, this one," Louis grinned, trailing his hands to her sides and peppering her exposed neck with kisses. A frail squeak escaped the girl's lips and she chuckled heartily._

_"Okay, okay," She laughed, pressing the correct note this time, "You win, Lou."_

_"You know it," He pridefully remarked as he slowly let go of his girl, walking to the back of the piano to make his repairs. Clem have a sad glare at the loss of his warmth, slightly pouting._

_"Press it for me?" He asked kindly, and she happily obliged. The note bounced in their ears, slightly shrill. Still not done tuning, after all._

_"Good, now the pedal." She pressed eagerly, tapping the A once more. A little better, but not quite perfection._

_"Now-"_

_"Blow on the strings," The girl said with a smile, lifting herself up and blowing steadily at the piano's wires. Once started as a joke, it quickly became their personal good luck charm. It seemed to be working so far._

_"You know, I've been thinking..." Clementine started, her honey golden eyes trailing warmly to his earthy brown._

_"Yes, Love?" The boy inquired, meeting her eyes only briefly before returning to the back of the instrument._

_"Maybe you could, I don't know," She rambled, regaining his confused gaze, "Teach me piano? Only if you wanted to, of course."_

_"Clementine!" Louis chimed ecstatically, shooting up and rushing towards her to smother her in a large kiss._

_"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that."_

* * *

"You know, Louis," Clementine managed to croak into the empty room, "I've been practicing for you."

"I haven't been sleeping well... So I've had a lot of spare time."

She could practically hear his potential responses, sitting next to her as he traced intricate shapes onto her back. 

Of course, enthusiasm about her wanting to play. An ecstatic exclamation. A silly joke, maybe. Probably. Then concern to hear she hadn't been resting. She would joke about it being something she's used to by now, watching as he would give her warm eyes that would only show genuine compassion and care for her well being.

Wiping her pained, wet cheek with the back of her sleeve, she sighed before placing her right hand onto the board. _'For him,'_ She thought. It was always for him.

Three consecutive C notes pressed, followed by a G. The noise was shrill and ugly. It hadn't been tuned in quite a while. You need a second person, after all.

_"Oh my daarlin'..."_ _She could still hear his voice sing to her, clearly like a toned bell._

Three Es. Then another C note.

_"Oh my daarlin'..."  
_

Another C key hit by her thumb. An E. Two Gs. F. E. D. Pressure emanated from her eyes.

_"Oh my daaarlin' Clementine..." He would sing, making her smile longer than she ever had in years._

D. E. F. F. E. D sharp. E. C. Tears rolled down her face. A knot formed in her throat she couldn't swallow.

_"You are lost, and gone forever..." _

C. E. D. G. B. D. C... She stopped. She couldn't play anymore, even if she wanted to. 

_"Dreadful sorry, Clementine..."_

For the fifth night this week, Clementine broke down.  
She crumbled right onto the cracked ivory keys, her chest wracking violently against herself as she let out timid sobs. She tried her absolute best to muffle her cries, but horribly failed as her throat burned like it was on fire.

Visions replayed in her head of her horrific nightmares.  
Louis's ragged breaths, only to be met with blood filling his lungs.  
His violent trembling as he laid there in agony.  
His dark eyes looking straight at Clementine's in fear, the life slowly draining within them.  
She was riddled with these nightmares for days on end, gradually losing herself in them.  
Except they weren't just like her regular nightmares.

It actually happened.

And she let it happen.

She just watched.  
Watched as Louis held down Tenn for his own safety, completely disregarding his own.  
She watched as she was unable to do anything to help, her leg slowly bleeding out.  
She watched as AJ held his finger on the trigger, and pulled back at the last second.  
All because she didn't trust him.

* * *

_"Louis!" Clementine yelled in relief, running to greet her partner as he walked out of the thick vegetation. He welcomed her affection with open arms and breathed deeply in solace at finding Her, AJ, and Tenn relatively okay. He rubbed her back as she buried her face into his chest._  
_ "You came to look for us."_

_"Thought I lost you," The teenage boy grinned, attempting to choke back his words but failing, "I love you too much to lose you."_

_The girl looked up in surprise, taken aback, "You... You love me?" She stammered, quickly flushing._

_He audibly sighed, his cheeks turning a pinkish haze under his dark skin, "I think I do, Clem. I really, truly do."_

_"I... I love you too," Clem breathed, a small smile tugging on her face that Louis imitated._

_"This is amazing," Tenn halted, smiling at the scene._

_"This call's for celebration!" Louis gleamed, throwing his hands into the air, "When we get back, we're totally throwing another party!"_

_"Naturally," Clem fazed, walking hand-in-hand with Louis into what would inevitably be his demise._

* * *

"God," Clementine sputtered, heaving, "I'm so sorry Louis._ I'm so sorry._"  
_"It's all my fault."_  
Her body shook with every vicious word she threw at herself.

"Clementine?" A rusted, feminine voice echoed through the music room, footsteps stopping short at the door. The sudden intrusion made Clem jump, splitting her sobs in half. 

"I'm fine," She darkly croaked, swallowing herself into her own lie, "Leave me alone, Vi."

"I didn't even ask yet," Violet interjected, stepping towards the girl. She was the only person other to walk into the music room since the incident.  
"And that's a blatant lie."

"What do you want?" Clem asked sourly.

"I want you to know that we care about you, Clementine." Her voice rang out softly, "You've barely spoken to anyone for days. Have you been eating?"

"Yes, I have," She lied. She couldn't remember the last thing that touched her lips, except for someone that never will again.

"Then what did Omar do for dinner tonight?" Violet quizzed. It wasn't her normal snarky or composed attitude. It was of genuine compassion as she slowly stepped towards the piano. She leaned lightly on the lid and felt the vibration's of Clementine's ragged breaths.

"Why are you here?" Clem spat back, leaning up and wiping a face with her sleeve. Violet noticed her question being tossed aside with a sigh.

"Because despite as much as you say, you're not okay, Clem."

The girl scoffed, turning away despite knowing she shouldn't.

"Can I... Sit with you?" Vi asked lightly, gesturing to the bench. Clem returned with an apprehensive nod, scooting over to allow room.  
As the girl slowly rested, she drew a large sigh, looking into Clem's vacant, wet eyes. She looked terrible, but of course she wouldn't say that.

"I understand how you feel, you know," Violet started, lifting a slender hand and rubbing the girl's shoulder. Clem melted into the touch, despite her mental protest.

"When I thought I lost Minnie... A piece of me died with her," She muttered lowly, looking away, "I pushed everyone away as well."

"Then Louis pulled me back in. He put my pieces back together," A glint of a smile perking on her face, "Now, I think it's about time I return the favor." 

Clementine's breath hitched at the mention of his, hiccuping. Violet prepared for what was about to happen, as if she already knew.  
Sobs wracked Clem's body despite her protest, falling into Violet's warm embrace as she just let her emotions consume her.

"It's okay," Vi consoled, rubbing the girl's shaking back, "Let it out. This'll stay between us."

"It hurts," She croaked, whimpering into her arms, "It hurts _so fucking much._"

"I know it does," Violet murmured, "It fucking sucks. But you'll get through it. And I'll be here for you."

They sat there, for god knows how long, just listening to the night's silence over Clementine's sobs. Violet stayed with her, petting her hair and murmuring soft encouragements until she couldn't physically cry anymore. She just laid there, resting into her friend's warmth in silence, the occasional hiccup escaping her lips. And that was okay.

"You can sleep with me tonight, if you want." Violet suggested warmly, a comforting grin accompanying her face, "I know you haven't slept well. I could wake you up whenever the dream starts again."

The girl gave a small nod as she lifted her head, wiping her face with her sleeve.  
"I... I'd really like that. But you don't have to do that for me."

"Clem, I want to," Violet glinted, slowly standing up and grasping at her friend's crutches.  
She led the girl's crutches to her, helping her rise and collect herself.

"I'm here for you," she muttered warmly, trailing her out of the music room and into the dorms.

For the first night in weeks, The girl wasn't racked with her bitter nightmares.

And for the first time in weeks, Clementine didn't feel alone.


End file.
